Steve Cropley
MONDAY
Fascinating to hear that MG’s centenary will be the big celebration at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed – and that the vehicle most prominent in sculptor Gerry Judah’s monumental installation in front of Goodwood House will be the Cyberster, a two-tonne electric roadster, special show editions of which are probably being built in China right now. Given the car’s mass, Goodwood engineers might even have to reinforce the elaborate but discreet foundations under the Duke of Richmond’s lawn to handle the weight of Judah’s girder-based structures.
It has lately become fashionable to observe how canny MG’s Chinese parent, SAIC, was to purchase a well-known and succinct marque name – with an octagonal trademark thrown in. These assets have certainly brought success to the cars. But SAIC’s perception of the value of this heritage came some time after the actual purchase. A few years ago, I attended a Beijing motor show at which MG was ludicrously portrayed as standing for ‘Modern Gentleman’ and the show stand was populated by models dressed like characters from a Jane Austen TV drama. More fascinating will be to see what today’s MG company does in future with a heritage to which it has never made any contribution. Let’s hope the management recognises a responsibility to build on something that has brought much benefit.
TUESDAY
Several weeks ago, I wrote in praise of Williams Racing, which offers work experience to groups of keen, Formula 1-loving school students during the holidays. Soon afterwards, a note arrived from a 16-year-old called Lily, whose dad had read about the offer, encouraged his daughter to enter, and she’d been successful. She was keen on a career in F1 communications, she explained, and asked for some advice for the interview. I suggested that when they asked her why a comms job appealed so much, she should point out (very politely) that F1 sometimes forgets how much it needs strong connections with its audience – and she would like to help make them better. She promises to write and tell us how it went.
WEDNESDAY
Yasa, Mercedes-owned creator of revolutionary British-designed electric motors, is moving to Bicester Motion, the 444-acre former RAF base in Oxfordshire whose collection of 1920s brick buildings already houses the thriving Bicester Heritage classic car hub.
This is a gigantic coup for Bicester and the whole UK car communit
